The present invention relates to a rotary cutter and more specifically relates to a parking stand for a pull-type rotary cutter.
Pull-type rotary cutters require some means of raising and lowering the hitch to attach it to, or disconnect it from, the drawbar of a towing tractor and for supporting the cutter in storage. Currently, known rotary cutters are provided with crank jacks that are mounted on the side and near the front of the hitch. After attaching the tractor, the jack must be removed from the hitch and stored on the deck to prevent tire, driveshaft or ground interference. A storage bracket is provided for this, however, jacks stored on the deck tend to cause paint damage from hitting the deck during rough field work.
On heavy, flex wing cutters, it becomes difficult to crank the jack. Further, because the jack is located off to one side, it tends to lean and cause the cutter to shift to one side as the hitch is raised, putting pressure on, and making it difficult to remove, the drawbar pin. Some jacks, when used with hitches not having a self-leveling feature, tend to lean fore-and-aft depending on the angle of the hitch, this leaning likewise putting pressure on the drawbar pin. A further drawback of these crank jack arrangements is that they tend to get lost, because they are removable and sometimes are not put back in the storage position.
According to the present invention, there is provided an improved arrangement for supporting the hitch of a rotary cutter.
An object of the invention is to provide a parking stand arrangement, for a towed rotary cutter, which does not require a screw jack.
Another object of the invention is to provide a parking stand arrangement which is mounted for being swung between a lowered park position and a raised stored position beneath the hitch of the rotary cutter.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a parking stand arrangement, like that of the immediately preceding object, which, in accordance with a second embodiment, acts to hold the hitch clevis in a horizontal attitude when the parking arrangement is in its park position.
A further object of the invention is to provide a parking stand arrangement, for a towed rotary cutter, which, in accordance with a first embodiment, utilizes the hydraulic actuator used for raising and lowering the cutter to also adjust the hitch such that the deployed parking stand acts to raise the hitch so as to relieve any stress on the drawbar or hitch pin which can then be removed.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a parking stand arrangement, as set forth in the objects appearing above, wherein the parking stand is located at a central location beneath the hitch so that the hitch is lifted straight up with no binding forces being generated at the hitch pin.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a reading of the ensuing description together with the appended drawings.